Grains of Sand

Pixabay Submission would be whole lot easier if 1 Peter 5:5b was always true. " All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another… " As Peter ends his letter to the believers of his day, men and women had been forced to scatter throughout their world because of persecution, he addresses for a moment those with spiritual authority. He encourages them to be true shepherds, examples, imitators of the Great Shepherd, Jesus. As he finishes that brief word he tells those younger to submit to their spiritual leaders. Some exult at that instruction; others resent it. Few read, or dwell, on the phrase that follows. " In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. ALL OF YOU, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another… " I wonder if Peter was thinking of a certain discussion that took place just before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to His death? An ambitious mother came to Jesus to ask Him t...

Pixabay Everyone wants to be great—even if it is just a little bit! That’s what makes it so hard to be the one who always ends up cleaning the litter box. It just doesn’t jive with greatness. I don’t think there were litter boxes in Jesus’ day, but if there had been He’d be the one cleaning them out. Talk of the kingdom had put delusions of grandeur in the heads of some of Jesus’ disciples—and their relatives. On one occasion, the mother of James and John came to Jesus to ask Him to put her sons in positions of greatness when He established His kingdom (Matthew 20:21). Jesus’ reply would not have been understood until later. He said “ You don’t know what you are asking…Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? ” (20:22). They were thinking Bordeaux, and He was meaning suffering, when they replied, “ We can ” (20:22). This conversation, fueled by the furor of the others when they realized that someone else had thought to make the request before they did, led to a teaching opportuni...

Google Images In yesterday’s post, http://lyndasgrainsofsand.blogspot.ca/2013/06/investing-wisely.html I wrote about living our lives out for God’s benefit rather than for our own. In the next parable we read in Matthew 25 we find an example of what Jesus meant, The parable begins with another reminder that someday an account will have to be given for what we have done while here on the planet. As we will see, the issue is not only WHAT we have done but WHO we have done it for. The scene is the Throne Room of God and the occasion is the Judgement. God separates mankind into two categories: sheep and goats. And though we know that salvation is through faith alone, this particular judgment is carried out according to what the two sectors did while on earth. “ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I wa...

Google Images The sixth letter that John wrote down was addressed to the church in Philadelphia. The sense of the message, preserved for us in Revelation 3:7-13, is somewhat different from the other messages that God delivered to His servant. The church in Philadelphia didn’t seem to have any problems that needed warning about. Rather, God wanted to encourage them to move forward with Him. “ These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name ” (3:7, 8). Here is a church that has persevered and continued to be faithful. They have used all their energies in God’s service. Yet now, God calls them to push forward because He has provided for them an opportunity for ministry that no one can deny them. This opportunity seems t...

Google Images Several posts ago, I commented on our service to the Lord by saying that WHO we serve will make all the difference when it comes to our attitude toward that service and whether or not we quit when the going gets tough. Here is the book of Titus, another “why?” pops out of Paul’s encouragement to yet another younger pastor. Chapter 3 begins with the contrast between what we were and what we are and reminds us that the proof of any life-change brought about by the Spirit of God is found in how that life is lived out. Then Paul wraps up the reason for the life-change in these stirring statements: “ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of e...

I sat on my balcony watching the rain the other night. The clouds marched along to the north and west. From my vantage point it was dry and sunny but somewhere, someone was getting wet. I am in awe at the God Who controls the winds, the clouds and the rain. Like Job, I shut my mouth (Job 40:3-5), my complaints that God wasn't paying attention sounding ridiculous in the presence of the One who formed the world and sustains it to this day. It's me who doesn't pay attention. The universe constantly proclaims the presence of a God who IS in control, Who is paying attention to every detail—even the petty ones of my life. Job's response to an encounter with God was to repent (42:6), just as Isaiah repented when he saw God in the vision recorded for us in Isaiah 6. When we have a "close encounter" with God, there is no other response but repentance, worship and total abandonment to the will and purpose of the Almighty. After seeing God, Isaiah cried, " He...

“ Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ” (Genesis 4:2, NIV). Photo: stock.xchng Not much. It’s just a stick, old and rough and worn. As long as it stayed in Moses’ hand, that’s all it was—an old stick. Moses was reluctant. Life might be hard in the desert. But herding sheep is a lot easier than herding people. Moses had already learned the hard way that clouting difficult people over the head had consequences that clouting a rebellious sheep didn't have (Genesis 2:11ff). Even the bleating of sheep seemed musical compared to bleating people, complaining and criticizing all the time. To be asked to go back to Egypt and take charge of a herd of humans was not high on Moses’ wish list. He hoped that God would accept his excuses for not going. God also knew that Moses was still hurting from the rejection he had experienced at the hands of his own people, and fearful because he was still wanted for murder in Egypt and could be summarily executed if, even aft...

I'm over at JoE today: http://www.jewelsofencouragement.com/2012/02/case-of-pilfering-peacock.html The post evolved out of a prayer letter I read from one of our missionaries in Pakistan, Hannah Pollock. Hannah's life journey as a missionary spans decades. She wanted to go to India. As an American back in the 60s, the door to that country was closed. But so convinced was Hannah that God wanted her there that she came to Canada, attended seminary here and became a Canadian citizen. By the time she applied for her visa to go to India, even Canadians were not being allowed in. But Shikarpur Christian Hospital was desperate for staff and when they heard about her dilemma they encouraged her to come and join them. She did, and spent decades serving the needs of Pakistani women in that place. When she retired, she married a widower, the father of another missionary with whom she had worked in Pakistan. When he passed away, Hannah returned as a volunteer to Shikarpur to fill one o...

“ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me ” —John 12:26, NIV. Doesn’t this verse sound soooooo good? Yes, Lord, I’ll serve you. I’ll follow. I’ll be where you are. My Scripture reading program for this year only gives me one or two isolated verses each day—a dangerous thing because it’s possible to miss the point of the passage when I look at it apart from its context. I thought I should look this one up. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on his first, and last, donkey ride. Though the occasion was triumphant, the crowds appreciative, and new interest in the gospel sparked, the Lord immediately hauled His disciples down from their “cloud nine.” The interest in Christ’s message came from an unexpected quarter, some Greeks who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They asked to see Jesus. We can assume from the answer Jesus gave to their request that He was challenging them to count the cost of...

“ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners ” —Isaiah 61:1, NIV. Years after Isaiah spoke these prophetic words, they were quoted again in Luke 4:18 as God Himself walked among men. The mission of Christ was a redemptive one. His life models for us our mission in life. In John 13, on the last night before going to the cross, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. For many this has become symbolic of what our service to others should look like. But the lesson goes much deeper than that. Peter’s initial refusal to allow the Lord to wash his feet prompted a conversation about redemption. Peter was embarrassed that his Master, the Messiah, should be on His knees with a washbasin and a towel as though He were an ordinary servant. When the big fisherman pulled his feet away, Jesus told him that if ...

If there was ever an epitaph to envy it would be this one: " He was great in the sight of the Lord ." When the birth of John, who would be called "The Baptist," was born, the angel who delivered the announcement to his father, Zecariah, was told: " …he will be great in the sight of the Lord " —Luke 1:15, NIV. John's birth, and the circumstances leading up to it, were miracles. Humanly speaking, he should not have been, but as the angel said to his cousin, Mary, " …nothing is impossible with God " —Luke 1:37, NIV. We know nothing about John's childhood except the terse words of Luke 1:80 that say: " And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly in Israel ." John was a bizarre figure in Israel. His form of dress would have definitely put him on anyone's worst dressed list. His eating habits, while healthy, would not have made him anyone's popular dinner guest....

What pastor would have the nerve to tell his people that if they wanted to cruise through the Christian experience, they should go and join the church down the street? Apparently there is at least one, and his church is full of people who are working their passage rather than sitting on the deck basking in the sun. As I began reading in Ezra yesterday I was reminded that if the church were a vessel, it would be freighter not a cruise ship. The Lord has moved the King of Persia's heart to allow some of the captive Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. Notice the telling little phrase: " Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem " —Ezra 1:5, NIV. Anyone could have gone, but only those whose hearts God had moved would have volunteered for the "blood, sweat, and tears" involved in reparation of the disaster that had been left b...

Considering some of the weird and wonderful things Ezekiel was commanded by the Lord to do, he probably couldn't be blamed if he had been a little peeved at his assignment. After all, Ezekiel was a priest, a dignified member of his community and it just didn't seem right to ask him to lie around on his right side in a public view for 390 days and then on his left side for another 40. Not to mention how offensive it was for the poor man to have to cook his meals, in public, over a campfire fueled by human excrement. Happily the Lord allowed him a reprieve on this last one and let him cook his bread over cow manure. But, still…! Then he had to shave his head and his beard—a definite nasty for a Jew. What was all this about? Why such "in-your-face" illustrations? Israel has been taken into captivity to Babylon. Judah is about to suffer the same fate at the hand of the Assyrians. God's people have behaved so badly for so long that God has come to the end of the di...

Psalms 115-118 " How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people " —Psalm 116:12-14 NIV. Spring has come. As I listen to the birds singing outside the window, I wonder what they are saying? Are they calling out to any available mates in the neighbourhood? It is, after all, spring when instinct kicks in and the birds and beasts think of propagating the species. The Scriptures tell us that all nature praises its Creator and I'm thinking that those joyful notes are a part of that chorus rising to heaven. How can I express my thanks for all that God has done for me? I can praise him for the new life that he has given and then live out that praise in ministry to others. A simple truth of profound significance.

Well, this is the first time I've posted this close to the end of one day and the beginning of another. But I simply couldn't pass up today's verse. Actually there are four of them assigned for today, but I'm going to focus on the last one. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58: " Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. " I remember the summer I spent working in my home church. I'd just completed my first year of seminary. The pastor must have felt more confidence in me than I felt in myself. He took off for the south to complete a degree he was working on and basically left me "in charge." It seems to me the deacons took flight that summer too. In any case, there were plenty of moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. I got as far as writing the letter of resignation (and a steamy one it was, as I re...